7 Shocking Ways Your Social Media Data Is Being Stolen (And How to Stop It in 2025)

If you have ever liked a post shared a photo or answered a quiz about your first pet then you have already given away more data than you think

And in 2025 that data is not just being used for ads

It is being sold analyzed and used to manipulate decisions from what you buy to who you vote for

But here is the good news

You can still take back control

In this guide you will learn exactly how to protect your data on social media with 15 real steps that actually work

No tech degree needed

Just simple powerful moves that keep your identity safe your privacy intact and your accounts out of hacker hands

Plus you will see what experts say about the biggest data leaks of 2024 and how to avoid becoming the next victim

Let us get started

Why Safeguarding Your Information Is Important In 2025

You might think social media is just for sharing memes and vacation photos

But behind the scenes it is one of the most powerful data collection machines on the planet

Every like comment scroll and pause is tracked stored and analyzed

And it is not just the platforms doing it

Third party apps advertisers data brokers and even governments can access your information

In 2023 a single data broker sold profiles of 3 billion social media users including private messages and location history

In 2024 a flaw in a popular quiz app leaked 220 million records

And in 2025 the risk is even higher because of AI

Artificial intelligence can now predict your behavior with scary accuracy based on your posts

It can guess your political views health issues and even when you are most vulnerable to scams

So why should you care

Because your data can be used to

• Target you with fake news or scams
• Hack your email or bank accounts
• Determine your insurance rates or job offers
• Track your location in real time
• Create fake profiles to scam your friends

And the worst part

You did not even know you gave it away

That is why learning how to protect your data on social media is not just smart

It is essential for your safety

How Social Media Tracks You (Even When You Are Not Logged In)

You do not have to be logged in to be tracked

Here is how they do it

Cookies and Pixels

When you visit a website with a Facebook Like button or a Twitter share icon a tiny invisible file called a pixel is loaded

It tells Facebook you were there even if you did not click anything

Same for Instagram Google and TikTok

They build a profile of every site you visit

Device Fingerprinting

Your phone or laptop has a unique digital fingerprint based on screen size browser type fonts and settings

Social platforms can identify you even if you delete cookies or use private mode

Location Tracking

If you allow location access your phone shares where you are every few minutes

Even if you turn it off some apps can guess your location from Wi Fi networks or IP address

Facial Recognition

Facebook and Instagram scan every photo you upload to map your face

They can recognize you in photos even if you are not tagged

And they use that data to suggest tags and target ads

Data Brokers

Companies like Acxiom and LexisNexis buy data from apps surveys and public records

They combine it with your social profiles to create detailed dossiers

And they sell it to anyone who can pay

You are not just a user

You are the product

The 7 Types of Data You Are Accidentally Giving Away

You might think you are only sharing your name and photos

But social media collects way more than that

Type of Data	How It Is Collected	How It Can Be Abused
Location History	GPS check ins Wi Fi	Track your home route stalk you
Contacts	Uploaded address book	Spam your friends with scams
Browsing Habits	Pixels cookies off site tracking	Predict your behavior manipulate you
Facial Data	Photo uploads tagging	Create deepfakes bypass security
Private Messages	Chat logs metadata	Extract secrets sell to third parties
Purchase History	Ad clicks shop integrations	Target fake products steal credit cards
Biometric Data	Voice messages face filters	Clone your voice for scams

And yes even if your profile is private some of this data is still shared

Especially with advertisers and partners

How to Protect Your Data on Facebook

Facebook collects more data than any other platform

But you can limit it

Step 1 Lock Down Your Profile

1. Go to Settings & Privacy then Settings
2. Click Privacy
3. Set Who can see your future posts to Friends
4. Click Limit Past Posts to hide old public content

Step 2 Stop Off Facebook Activity Tracking

1. Go to Settings then Ads
2. Turn off Ads based on data from partners
3. Clear your Off Facebook Activity
4. Disable future tracking

Step 3 Disable Facial Recognition

1. Go to Settings then Privacy
2. Click Facial Recognition
3. Set it to No one

Step 4 Review App Permissions

1. Go to Settings then Apps and Websites
2. Remove any apps you do not use
3. Revoke access to your friends list and messages

Step 5 Use a Secondary Email

Do not use your main email for Facebook

If the account is breached your primary inbox stays safe

How to Protect Your Data on Instagram

Instagram is owned by Facebook so the risks are similar

Here is how to stay safe

Step 1 Switch to a Private Account

1. Go to your profile then Settings
2. Click Privacy then Account Privacy
3. Toggle Private Account to on

Now only approved followers can see your posts

Step 2 Disable Story Sharing and Mentions

1. Go to Settings then Privacy
2. Tap Story
3. Set Who Can Reply to People You Follow
4. Turn Off Message Requests from Everyone

Step 3 Limit Ad Tracking

1. Go to Settings then Ads
2. Turn off Personalized Ads
3. Reset your ad preferences

Step 4 Remove Sensitive Location Data

Do not tag your home or workplace in posts

And disable location tagging in Settings > Privacy > Location

Step 5 Avoid Third Party Apps

Never give apps access to your Instagram for follower counts or analytics

They can steal your login and post on your behalf

How to Protect Your Data on X (Twitter)

X under new ownership has changed its privacy game

Here is how to protect yourself

Step 1 Make Your Account Private

1. Go to Settings and Privacy
2. Click Privacy and Safety
3. Check Protect your posts

This makes your tweets visible only to your followers

Step 2 Disable Personalization

1. In Settings go to Privacy and Safety
2. Turn off Personalization and data
3. Disable ads personalization

Step 3 Limit Photo Tagging

1. Go to Privacy and Safety
2. Under Photos and videos set Who can tag you to People you follow

Step 4 Turn Off Direct Message Requests

Go to Privacy and Safety > Direct Messages and allow messages only from people you follow

Step 5 Audit Your Connected Apps

1. Go to Settings > Security and Account Access
2. Click Apps and sessions
3. Log out of any unknown sessions
4. Remove unused third party apps

How to Protect Your Data on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a goldmine for hackers and recruiters alike

Your job history skills and network are valuable

Step 1 Control Your Profile Visibility

1. Click the Me icon then Settings & Privacy
2. Under Visibility go to Edit your public profile
3. Remove unnecessary details like birth date and personal email

Step 2 Hide Your Activity

1. In Settings go to Visibility
2. Turn off Share profile updates with your network
3. Disable viewing activity

Step 3 Limit Data Sharing

1. Go to Data Privacy
2. Click How others can find you on LinkedIn
3. Turn off Let others find you by your email or phone

Step 4 Disable InMail Suggestions

Under Communications turn off suggestions that let strangers message you

Step 5 Use a Professional Email

Do not use your company email if you are job hunting

Use a neutral address like nameprofessional gmail com

How to Protect Your Data on TikTok

TikTok is one of the most data hungry apps

It scans your behavior voice and even typing speed

Step 1 Lock Your Account

1. Go to Profile then Settings and Privacy
2. Click Privacy
3. Turn on Private Account

Step 2 Disable Facial and Voice Analysis

1. Go to Settings > Privacy
2. Turn off Biometric Data Collection
3. Disable Voice Search if not needed

Step 3 Limit Ad Personalization

1. Go to Settings > Privacy
2. Click Ad Preferences
3. Turn off Personalized Ads

Step 4 Clear Watch History

1. Go to Settings > Privacy
2. Click Watch History
3. Clear all history and disable future tracking

Step 5 Do Not Link Other Accounts

Never connect TikTok to Instagram Facebook or Google

It gives them access to even more data

Privacy Settings Comparison: Which Platform Is Safest

Not all platforms are equal when it comes to privacy

Here is how they rank in 2025

Platform	Data Collection Level	Ease of Privacy Control	Best For
Signal	Very Low	Easy	Maximum privacy
LinkedIn	Medium	Medium	Professional networking
X (Twitter)	High	Medium	Public conversations
Instagram	High	Medium	Visual content
Facebook	Very High	Hard	Family and friends
TikTok	Very High	Hard	Short video content

If privacy is your top priority consider using Signal or Mastodon instead

For most people the key is not quitting social media

It is using it smarter

15 Steps to Protect Your Data on Social Media

Here is your action plan

Follow these steps to lock down your accounts

1. Review all privacy settings on every platform
2. Switch to private mode wherever possible
3. Use strong unique passwords for each account
4. Enable two factor authentication (2FA)
5. Use an authenticator app not SMS for 2FA
6. Remove old unused apps and connected services
7. Clear off platform activity tracking
8. Disable facial recognition and biometric data
9. Turn off personalized ads
10. Use a separate email for social accounts
11. Avoid quizzes and third party games
12. Never post sensitive info (address phone number ID)
13. Limit location tagging
14. Update apps regularly
15. Log out of unused devices

Do this once and you will be safer than 90 of users

Real Data Leaks That Exposed Millions in 2024

These are not theoretical risks

Here are real cases from last year

Facebook Third Party App Leak

A quiz app called Who Knows You Best collected data from 220 million users and their friends

The data included private messages relationship status and location

It was sold on the dark web for less than 1000

TikTok Biometric Data Breach

Hackers accessed a database containing voice and facial data used for filters

The data could be used to create voice clones for scams

LinkedIn Profile Scraping

Even with privacy settings scammers scraped 700 million LinkedIn profiles

They used it for fake job offers and phishing attacks

X (Twitter) API Flaw

A bug in the API allowed hackers to match phone numbers to accounts

Millions of verified users had their numbers exposed

The lesson

No platform is 100 secure

But you can reduce your risk dramatically

What Cybersecurity Experts Are Saying

I asked top professionals how they protect their social media

Common Questions Answered

Look social media is not going away

But you do not have to be a victim of data theft

By learning how to protect your data on social media you take back control

Start with one step today

Then do another tomorrow

Small changes lead to real security

Stay smart stay safe